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About Boutique Tours & Travel

Boutique Tours & Travel offers international luxury and deluxe escorted small group tours to Bhutan, China, France, India, Italy, Nepal, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. We also offer Cuisine tours to China, Cambodia, Vietnam and France with Women’s Tours to China, India, Italy and Vietnam. We also offer amazing Shopping and Cultural Tours to China. (Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong)

Our luxury and deluxe escorted small group tours are especially designed for those who wish to travel, but not travel alone. Our small group tours comprise of 6 - 14 guests only. Join any of our tours with family and friends, or even as a solo traveller, and we have many, or form your own group. You benefit from our great knowledge and experience whether you travel on one of our fully guided small group tours or independently on one of our exciting in-country private guided tours with Boutique Tours & Travel.

We provide a friendly atmosphere with longer stays, without that feeling of being rushed. We extend to you our personalised service and care so that you may enjoy all the amazing experiences and share great moments with family and friends and appreciate the people & their culture, history, art, scenery and stunning gardens.

Boutique Tours & Travel is an independent boutique travel operator. Our small group tours are well resourced, our itineraries are carefully planned and we offer a combination of formally guided tours and free time for your own pleasure. All our tours are tried, tested and proven. We have a significant track record with our past guests giving feedback endorsing the fact that Boutique Tours & Travel delivers the most memorable and fulfilling touring experience unequalled on the market. We look forward to sharing the journey with you to the places we love..

Who are we:

About Glenda Fagan

Glenda is a trained Coronary Care Nurse with many years’ experience caring for others. She has travelled extensively in Europe, UK, Italy, America, Turkey, China, India, Vietnam and Cambodia. Her passion is travelling and experiencing the depth of richness in the culture and people in each of the countries we journey to. Glenda looks forward to sharing her wealth of knowledge to enhance and enrich your travel experiences.

About Diana Marsland

Diana studied in London at the Cordon Bleu School and Prue Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London. She attended William Angliss College in Melbourne. Her wide knowledge of and passion for local food products and ingredients led her to become a founding member of Daylesford Macedon Produce Group and Slow Food Central Victoria conviva. Diana Marsland Cooking is one of Victoria’s leading cooking schools, established in 1981. Since then, students from 8 to 80+ have participated in cooking classes, demonstrations and dinners. In June 1997 Diana relocated to Woodend, in the beautiful Macedon Ranges, to “The Gables”, an 1860 Victorian Country House. (Woodend is only 50 minutes from Melbourne, on the Calder Highway)

About Frances Ergen

Discover the exotic with your guide Frances Ergen - textile designer, collector and trader of vintage fabrics from Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan This tour gives an insight into the richness of fibre techniques used to weave floor coverings, make felt or embellish a humble scarf. Discover the culture and history of the colours and symbolism through visits to studios, workshops and warehouses and have an amazing opportunity to share the experience with talented local crafts people. From an early age, Frances has been passionate about textiles. She was successfully accepted to study Textiles/Fashion at Hornsey College of Art London (now Middlesex Technical University) graduating initially to work with a knitting company in England. A great opportunity arose to be part of a well established design consultancy in Munich Germany and there she was given responsibility to solve numerous problems in the field of commercial textiles throughout Europe. However after a few years, she wished to return to her passion for handmade textiles and succeeded in being awarded a research scholarship to study traditional dyeing, craft & costume techniques at Kanazawa University of Fine Arts Japan. This incredible experience facilitated the chance to become a visiting lecturer to various universities on return to England.

In Turkey with her family Frances became involved in both commercial and handmade projects including handling knitwear production and kilim weaving techniques. The family moved to Sydney and she become a designer for Purl One Hand Knits and was a Part Lecturer in Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney. At the present time she still acts as a consultant for various projects in commercial textiles while actively pursuing her passion for handmade fabrics by developing, supporting and marketing the work of several co-operatives in India & Turkey. Frances also participates in a number of shows with other unique and exotic products in Australia and England.

About Deborah Saunders

Deborah Saunders has enjoyed a busy and varied 30 Years in the food industry in Australia. Her experiences included Restaurant front and back of House, Teaching in the form of Private classes, The Council of Adult Education and The Queen Victoria Market Cooking School. Deb spent 5 Years Catering for the executives of CRA Mining , 20 years of Private Catering with my own Company called Culinary Wizardry. I developed and manufactured a range of crazy chocolate products and became very skilled as a Demonstrator of product and appliances. Deb has also been a Guest Chef at Diana Marsland’s Cooking School over many years. Deb turned 50 and after some deep soul searching, decided that a life change was necessary so I impulsively opted for a “Wild Jungle Change ” and over the course of a weekend moved to Cambodia to establish an 11 room Boutique Guesthouse called The River Garden which is set amidst glorious tropical gardens on the banks of the Siem Reap River. My days are now spent welcoming guests, leading Culinary Tours and coping with the complexities of life in a Third world country.

We wish to thank our many clients who have referred family, friends and colleagues to us recently.